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Are You Working Willingly As If For God?

What is your favorite scripture passage in all of the Bible? Maybe you think of the famous verse, John 3:16, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Or maybe you learned Proverbs 3:5 growing up, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”

Of the 31,102 verses found in the Bible, I would have to say one of my favorites is found in Colossians 3:23, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” We are not living for this world and we need to be prepared for opportunities to serve God through serving others. We must pray and live intentionally with our focus on living for God. Let’s break down Colossians 3:23 to help us grow in our walk with the Lord.

Work willingly: Our work, or whatever we commit our time and energy towards, needs to flow out of a willingness to serve the Lord. When we sit down at the desk or show up at the counter to begin our shift, we need to have the attitude of an eager servant. We need to work not begrudgingly or with half effort, but as an act of worship.

At whatever you do: Not just in your nine to five, but in everything your hand finds to do, serve God. Whatever you make, bring forth, commit to, or engage in, ask yourself if it is glorifying God. On both your cheerful days and the days when you are feeling your worst, in everything honor God.

As though you were working for the Lord: If you work for an angry boss or a lazy business owner then you might be tempted to slack off when the work gets hard. The primary focus of our work should not be a paycheck or a raise, but honoring God. With the mindset of serving our ultimate “Boss,” we will see our motivations and work ethic in a completely different model.

Rather than for people: The reason for our behavior and attitude should not be found in pleasing others, but ultimately in pleasing the Lord. Paul put it best in Galatians 1:10 when he wrote, “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” The compelling force behind our work in both the big and small needs to be found in honoring God more than people.

Take a minute before you click out of this post to reflect on your day so far. Have you been a willing worker? In everything, is your attitude glorying God? Are you striving to please the Lord in your work more than other people? You’ve got this! Repent, and start again.